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B.A. (Mahayana Studies) 000-209 Introduction to Computer Science November 2005 - March 2006 6. Choosing a Computer

B.A. (Mahayana Studies) 000-209 Introduction to Computer Science November 2005 - March 2006 6. Choosing a Computer. Considering the hardware choices involved in choosing a computer. Overview. 1. How to Choose a Computer 2. The Processor 3. The Hard Disk 4. External Data Storage

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B.A. (Mahayana Studies) 000-209 Introduction to Computer Science November 2005 - March 2006 6. Choosing a Computer

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  1. B.A. (Mahayana Studies)000-209 Introduction to Computer ScienceNovember 2005 - March 20066. Choosing a Computer Considering the hardware choices involved in choosing a computer.

  2. Overview • 1. How to Choose a Computer • 2. The Processor • 3. The Hard Disk • 4. External Data Storage • 5. Keyboard / Mouse • 6. The Monitor • 7. The Sound Card continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  3. 8. Room for Expansion • 9. Laptop Battery Life • 10. The Printer • 11. A Computer's Life • 12. The Software 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  4. 1. How to Choose a Computer • Decide how much to spend, and stick to it. • How will you use the computer? • what software will you need? • Hardware issues • desktop or laptop? • processor, hard disk external storage, keyboard, mouse, monitor, sound card, printers, etc. • when to buy? 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  5. Windows XP • Minimum hardware for Windows XP: • Pentium 500 MHz processor, or higher • 256 MB of RAM or more • more memory is the best way to improve XP's speed • 4 GB hard drive (1.5 GB for XP) • a Super VGA monitor with (800x600) resolution • try 1024x768 or higher with 24-bit colour • CD-ROM or DVD-drive • keyboard and mouse • sound card and speakers 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  6. 1.1. Lotus, July 2005 Free Items: printer, ink, table, chair, fax modem, 50 hours on Internet, speakers, cover, mouse pad, adapter, microphone, 10 CD disks, monitor frame and 3 others cover, mouse pad, adapter, microphone, speakers 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  7. Some Buzzwords Others Later • DDR: Double Data Rate SDRAM; faster RAM • HDD: Hard Disk Drive • FDD: Floppy Disk Drive • CD-RW 52-32-52: • the CD drive can write data at 52x speed, it can rewrite data at 32x speed, and it can read data at 52x speed • USB: Universal Serial Bus • a plug-and-play interface between a PC and devices such as hard drives, audio players, scanners, and printers continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  8. AGP: Accelerated Graphics Port; speeds up 3D • many companies sell AGP-compatible graphics cards • 10/100 LAN: Local Area Network • dual speed 10/100 Mbps (bits/sec) with auto-sensing • HT: hyper threading; multiple threads of execution • VIA: VIA Technologies, Taiwan; makes motherboards • FSB: Front Side Bus; links motherboard to the CPU 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  9. 2. The Processor • Chip makers assign model numbers or names to processors. • the chip model indicates the processor’s architecture • Each new model is faster, with other enhancements. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  10. Intel Chips • Pentium 4 with hyper-threading • 3.00 to 3.80 GHz • model numbers include 670, 660, 650, 640, 630 571, 570J, 561, 560J, 560, 551, 550J, 550, 541, 540J, 540, 531, 530J, 530, 521, 520J, 520 • Celeron • can do the same operations as the Pentium • less expensive, but slower • 950 MHz to 2.80 GHz 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  11. Intel Chip History • 1982: Intel 286 • 134,000 transistors, 12.5 MHz clock speed • 1985: Intel 386 • 275,000 transistors, 33 MHz • 1989: Intel 486 • 1.2 million transistors, 50 MHz • 1995: Pentium Pro • 5.5 million transistors, 200 MHz continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  12. 1999: Pentium 3 • 28 million transistors, 733 MHz • 2000: Pentium 4 • 42 million transistors, 1.5 GHz (1500 MHz) 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  13. Part of Intel's Range in 2005 • Desktop • PentiumExtreme Edition, Pentium D,Pentium 4 supporting Hyper-Threading,Pentium 4, Celeron D, Celeron • Notebook • Pentium M, Mobile Pentium 4 supporting Hyper-Threading, Mobile Pentium 4, Mobile Pentium 4 Processor-M,Celeron M, Mobile Celeron Processor 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  14. Factors Affecting Price • Clock speed • indicates how many instructions can be processed per second • Level1 cache - cache built into the processor • Level2cache - the cache is on a separate chip • faster than level 1 cache • Benchmarktests • a set of standard processing tasks that measure the performance of hardware or software 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  15. Processor Overall Performance July 2005 from http://www.cpuscorecard.com/ : 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  16. 2.1. How much RAM? • The 'best' amount of RAM depends on the OS and applications you plan to use. • at least 64 - 256 MB to run Windows XP • 256 MB or more is better • a very good way of improving performance 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  17. 3. The Hard Disk • Storage capacity is measured in gigabytes (GB). • get at least 40 GB • Hard disk speed is usually measured in revolutions per minute (RPM) • the higher the RPM , the less time you'll spend waiting for your computer to access files • best for desktops: 5400, 7200 RPM • best for laptops: 4200, 5400 RPM 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  18. Hard Drive Controllers • Disk drives are classified by their type of controller • the hardware that rotates the hard disk, and moves the read-write head • Popular drive controllers are: • UltraATA, EIDE, SCSI • Ultra ATA is twice as fast as EIDE • SCSI is slightly faster than EIDE 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  19. 4. External Data Storage • Floppy disk drives are on their way out. • Rewritable CDs (CD-RW) are popular. • increasingly with DVD support • Many computers include USB ports for flash drives • get a USB port supporting version 2.0 (potentially 40x faster than 1.1) 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  20. Flash Drive • Uses flash memory • a rewritable memory chip that remembers its content without needing a power supply (non-volatile) • A flash drive can be added/removed from the PC while the macine is switched on (hot-swappable). • Storage capacities: 64 - 256 MB 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  21. 5. Keyboard/ Mouse Microsoft’s Natural Keyboard may help prevent computer related injuries. Wireless 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  22. Mouse Types • Mechanical, optical, laser mice • Cord or cordless? • How many buttons? • Mouse wheel? • Connector type • serial port, USB port 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  23. Laptop Input Choices Track point Trackball Touchpad 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  24. 6. The Monitor • CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors use similar technology to television sets • inexpensive and dependable • LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors produce images by manipulating light within a layer of liquid crystal cells. • compact, lightweight, easy to read • standard on laptops • flat-panel displays are available for desktops 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  25. Flat Panel Displays • Advantages of LCD • display clarity • low radiation emission • portable • compact • 3x the price of a CRT 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  26. Monitor Sizes • Screen size is the measurement in inches from one corner of the screen diagonally across to the opposite corner. • The viewableimagesize (vis) excludes the screen's black border from the calculation. A monitor’s viewable image size is less than the screen size. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  27. Monitor Resolution • Dotpitch - a measure of image clarity • smaller dot pitch means a crisper image • Maximumresolution: the maximum number of pixels a monitor can display • a typical max. resolution is 1280 x 1024 pixels 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  28. Graphics Cards • Often the graphics card may be a part of the motherboard • especially in laptops • the card should have 8 - 64 MB of video memory • The most powerful graphics cards are used for 3D graphics • sometimes called GPUs (graphics processing units) continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  29. The main 3D graphics card manufacturers are: • ATI Technologies • cards: Radeon 7/8/9000 Series, Radeon X Series • NVIDIA Corporation • cards: GeForce including GeForce FX Series, GeForce 6 Series, GeForce 7 Series 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  30. SVGA Graphics Cards • Super Video Graphics Array (Super VGA or SVGA) is the most popular display type. • SVGA graphics cards have a standard resolution of 800x600 (480,000 pixels). • They should be able to offer resolutions up to 1280x1024, with 24-bit colour (16 million colours). 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  31. Laptop Display Screens • Passive matrix screen- relies on timing to make sure the liquid crystal cells are illuminated. • Active matrix screen- updates rapidly • essential for crisp display of animation, video • found on newer laptops 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  32. 7. Sound Cards • A sound cards improves a computer's sound quality, and adds other sound capabilities: • makes it possible to use speakers, a stereo, and a microphone to record and play sound • some sound cards also include MIDI • Some sound card manufacturers • Turtle Beach, Diamond, Creative Labs 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  33. MIDI • Musical Instrument Digital Interface • MIDI enables electronic instruments, such as synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, and drum machines, to communicate with one another and with computers. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  34. 8. Room for Expansion • When you buy a computer, make sure it has expansion options. • Motherboard expansion slots to add peripheral drivers. • Internalbays : mounting brackets in the computer case for devices. continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  35. Externalbays: openings in the case so that devices can be (temporarily) connected to the computer. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  36. Laptop Expansion • PCMCIA expansion slots are found in many laptops. Classified according to size: • Type 1 - thinnest, for memory expansion • Type 2 - for modems, sound cards, network cards(most common) • Type 3 - thickest, for hard disk drives • Make sure the laptop has plenty of USB ports (2-6). 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  37. 9. Laptop Battery Life • The length of time a laptop's battery will last depends on: • the processor speed • the screen type (e.g. active matrix LCD) • how many peripherals are attached • Hotswap: the ability to swap batteries while the computer is on. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  38. 10. The Printer • Details to consider when choosing a printer: • Resolution • printer resolution is measured in dpi (dots per inch), the number of dots it can print per linear inch • more dpi means the final image will be clearer • Colourcapability • can the printer support colour? continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  39. Printspeed • print speed is measured by pages per minute (ppm) or characters per second (cps) • colour printing takes longer than black and white • text prints faster than graphics • ten pages per minute is a typical speed • dutycycle: the number of pages that can be printed per month • Printercost • from $100 to $5000 continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  40. Per-copy cost • these are the ongoing costs for the printer, including ribbons, ink cartridges, and toner • the cost estimate assumes that a page uses an average amount of text, graphics, and colour • Warranty • how long does the warranty last for? • does it cover all printer parts? 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  41. Inkjet Printers • The most popular type of printer • it produces low-cost colour and black-and-white printouts Colour ink cartridge Black ink cartridge continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  42. The print head uses a series of nozzles that spray coloured inks onto the paper 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  43. Laser Printers • The laser in the printer charges an electrostatically sensitive drum to accept toner which is then fused to the paper. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  44. Features • Higher quality output than inkjets • More expensive to buy than inkjets • Less expensive to operate than inkjet • The toner cartridge and drum cost approx. $70 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  45. Dot-matrix Printers? • Dotmatrixprintersprints by striking groups of wires or thin rods onto an ink-coated ribbon against paper. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  46. Features • Old/reliable technology: introduced in the 1970s • Low quality output • Can print onto multipart carbon forms • Used for “back-office” applications that need low operating cost and dependability. • A $4 ribbon can print 3 million characters 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  47. 11. A Computer's Life • The lifecycle of a computer has five phases: • product development • product announcement • introduction • maintenance • retirement • Vaporware: computers (and software) that are announced but never produced. 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  48. Price Drops over Time • Toshiba Satellite • Pentium M, 1.50GHz, 256MB RAM • 60 GB Hard Disk • CD RW / DVD • modem • 15.4 inch active matrix display high price average price Weeks up to July 2005 low price 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  49. Top-tier companies computer business for many years Apple, Compaq, IBM more expensive computers responsible for many innovations Second-tier companies newer companies Gateway, Packard Bell, Dell less expensive computers, same quality limited research and development Computer Companies continued 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

  50. Third-tier companies smaller startup companies sell locally less expensive may use poorer quality components more likely to go out of business technical support depends on the owner Build your own readily available parts relatively easy assembly customize to your own needs 000-209 Intro to CS. 6/Choosing

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